“The ideal
scratching post to recommend to a cat owner to help prevent inappropriate
scratching is one that includes rope as a substrate, is upright vertical, 3 ft
or higher, has two or more levels and a base width of between 1 and 3 ft.”

BUT…remember
among felines there is individual variation. For example, in our house, such
scratching posts are ignored. Especially if they were expensive (there seems to
be a rule with cats whereby their enthusiasm for something you buy for them is
inversely proportional to what you paid for it). Corrugated cardboard is all
the rage here, and there needs to be a lot of it (it’s also cheap which
confirms the aforementioned feline-onomics rule).

Mike and Hero
are also big time horizontal scratchers, so they dig shag pile rugs, scratchy
doormats and carpet. Because Michael is older and has a touch of arthritis, her
claws are particularly long and she gets them caught in things. I trim them
regularly.

I would also add that I am fairly realistic when it
comes to the furniture. I don’t take the risk – I use throw rugs and doonas to
protect furniture from claws, paws and little tiny hairs that I seem to find
everywhere anyway (which is why I need this book).

Veterinary Ethics: Navigating Tough Cases

WARNING

All images and content on this site are copyright Anne Fawcett unless stated otherwise and should not be reproduced without written permission. Please be aware that some surgical and clinical images are used on this site.